Welcome to the online home of The ASK Academy, a STEM Innovation academy in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. ASK is an independent, non-profit academy for 6th through 12th graders that teaches through a hands-on, research-based program. Our relationships with local businesses and educational partners enable scholars to learn in a realistic setting.

Please take the time to browse our website to learn what we are all about. Our unique perspective on teaching and learning allows our scholars to explore concepts truly unique to most middle and high school students. If you have any questions, please contact us for more information.

A Message From Our General Manager

Welcome to the ASK Academy, where scholars become self-directed learners through project based learning. Our project based learning curriculum is both rigorous and exciting because our scholars are engineering real world solutions to meet the demands of an ever-changing world. We follow both our own curriculum and that of Project Lead the Way, the nationally recognized standard for STEM innovation. Our program is so well regarded that the New Mexico Public Education Department recently renewed our charter with no conditions, ensuring us another five years of attitude, knowledge, and skill building unfettered by any corrective actions. This confidence is reflective of what the PED saw from our scholars on all testing, including the Discovery SSA test, in which 88% of participating students at or above the average. Our academy is more than just tests and grades. Our scholars are applying what they learn in many different ways.

Our robotics team was named state champions for the second year in a row at the VEX robotics challenge. This competition requires the scholars to design, build, and demonstrate using a robot of their own creation against students from schools throughout New Mexico. Our scholars also scored state championships at the state English Expo competition. Scholars Justice Gonzales and Ryan Copper earned Sandia Laboratories summer internships, and the Sandia Labs project based learning was a great experience for all the scholars who participated. Working with partners such as SNL, puts our scholars into the active learning environments where they will one day apply their skills. In fact our scholars and program have grown so much that we too are always recreating and expanding what we can do.

The 2015-16 year promises to be filled with great new successes and unprecedented growth. We will begin in our current space with the addition of 6th grade scholars. This will expand the ability of the project managers to help younger scholars begin their journeys as life-long learners. In December we will transition into our magnificent new facility on Sundt Road. The year will be a memorable one, and like our other years, will create greater foundations to continue our development as the most dynamic middle-secondary educational project based learning facility in the state. While many schools can make claims about their students, ASK Academy scholars are constantly demonstrating what they are working on, and the world is taking notice.

In early June our 18 graduating scholars earned over $800,000 in scholarships to universities such as Michigan, New Mexico Tech, and the Air Force Academy. What they did while in our academy was demonstrate how well prepared they are for the ever changing, technologically advanced twenty-first century world they are part of. If you are looking for an academy that is helping scholars become successful lifetime learners, look no further than the most innovative STEM learning environment in the state. Welcome to the Android community!

Sincerely,

Dan Busse
General Manager

News & Upcoming Events

Giving Scholars STEM Opportunities

The spring and summer of 2015 allowed for exciting scholar opportunities to explore careers in STEM fields.
Read more >>>

Exciting Advanced Placement (AP) News

Our Advanced Placement (AP) program has come a long way over the last five years. Please take a moment to review the amazing AP five-year score summary.

First Day for Scholars

The first day of the 2015-2016 academic year is on Monday, August 3, 2015. We looking forward to seeing you as we begin another great year!

Job Opportunity

The ASK Academy needs to fill the following position for the upcoming 2015-2016 academic year. Read more >>>